The 664 Medley Air Cadets Squadron recently held a change of command ceremony to welcome their new commanding officer, Capt. Owen Andrusiak.

Andrusiak replaced the outgoing Commanding Officer, retired Capt. Sheldon Tuttosi, in a ceremony that took place at 4 Wing MFRC on Jan. 10.

Andrusiak's appointment ends a months-long search to find a replacement for Tuttosi.

Andrusiak replaced Tuttosi because he "figured it was time to give back to my community and step in."

The new commanding officer is a recent addition to the community, having only been posted to Cold Lake last July.

He added that he plans to keep the aviation focus started by Tuttosi.

Andrusiak also hopes to expand the Cadet program, and encourages anyone interested in doing so to check out their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/664AirCadets, or to call 780-815-1664 for information.

"I want to try and go on more trips and get [the cadets] out of Cold Lake," he said.

Tuttosi said his time acting as their commanding officer was "a lot of fun."

"We got the Cadets moved to the [Mackenzie] school," he noted, and said he was glad to see more children go up and get real flying experience, as well as get time in the Dreamflyer. The Dreamflyer is a computer simulator that allows children to simulate flying. In the Dreamflyer, children fly a plane with a joystick on the screen. A specially-made seat lets them feel the forces that would come to them were they actually flying a plane.

Tuttosi retired from the Canadian Forces earlier this month, and now works for Cenovus Energy in 4 Wing Range Control.

Tuttosi said that he "doesn't have the time to commit to [the cadets] anymore," and for this reason, he is stepping down.

But he will not completely leave the cadets, as he plans to continue teaching with the cadets program.